Living a Pretty Suite Dream

Officially an Engineer

That's right, people. This week, I received the dial caliper engraved with the phrase "Official Engineer" awarded to every engineering student as he graduates from studenthood to realengineerhood.

I wish that were actually a thing. But really, this past week at work made me feel that I'm truly an engineer, not simply an engineering student. That title doesn't come with your diploma, or with your first job, but with the first contribution you make to the industry; and for me, that contribution was the official release of my drawings to initiate production of the tool I created for the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train ride.

Almost two and a half months of designing, testing, analyzing, tweaking, and improving culminated this week as I finished my drawings for the tool and sent it off to another guy to begin the manufacturing process. If all goes well, I might be lucky enough to actually see the final product before my internship ends. If it's not produced by August 5th, though, I'll never get to see it, since it'll be used in the maintenance bay of the attraction where only cast members can see it. That'd be pretty disappointing to never see the final product... I'm praying for a "quick" manufacturing process, if you can ascribe such an adjective to a three-month process.

So yeah! It feels great to have completed something of substance in this internship - something that will stick around even after I leave, for others to use, and hopefully appreciate. I've also affirmed what I expected to be my favorite part of mechanical engineering: design.

Punitive Matters

Last week was the second time in 14 months I've been robbed of a profit from the Warren family's traditional sporting-event gambling. The first came at the hands of Joe Flacco and the 2013 Super Bowl Ravens, when they intentionally took a safety to run down the clock and beat the 49ers. Had it not been for that unnecessary 2-point score in the last 60 seconds of that game, I would've walked away fifty bucks richer. And I'll never forgive Flacco or his franchise for that.

Last weekend it happened again, this time during the Masters. Former Masters Champion Bubba Watson, chosen by Reeses, and 20-year old golf prodigy Jordan Spieth, chosen by me, went into the final round on Sunday tied for the lead at five under par. As the day progressed, Spieth rose to a two-shot lead but then - just as Reeses and Búbble predicted in their trash talking to me that morning - choked on the back nine to drop to three back of Watson and a tie for second place.

Once again, robbed of almost fifty bucks in the final moments of an iconic sporting event. What made the loss even more bitter was that Reeses slept through the entire final round of the Masters, dreaming of the new outfit she'd buy as Bubba came through in the clutch. But mark my words, Spieth will come back to win the Masters some day. And when he does, he'll be my pick.

Fortunately the universe seemed to have enough fun toying with me, as three days later I went into the MyASU online portal and discovered that I'd been awarded the $2000 W.L. Gore scholarship by ASU's engineering schools. I'd applied for the scholarship about a month ago, and I'd put considerable effort into my essays for it, so it was great to see that my effort wasn't for naught. Plus, school will be $2000 cheaper next year! I mean, my incredible parents and grandparents are the ones paying for my education, but it's good to know I'm saving somebody money. And maybe saving them money for my bachelor's degree means they'll have more to invest toward my master's... :)

The real reason I'd been on MyASU that Wednesday evening, however, was because of more frustrating matters. Earlier that afternoon I'd received an email informing me that the Structures & Properties of Materials class I'd signed up to take in the fall had been canceled, and that I'd have to try to find another section to sign up for. Thanks, ASU.

Go figure that the only section of that materials class - that I need to take as a prerequisite for future classes, mind you - with seats still open is one that conflicts with my Thermofluids II course. And that thermo course has no open sections left to switch into. So I'm kinda stuck!

I'll continue to check regularly for more openings; my advisor told me that many students will likely end up dropping out of sections once spring grades post, and as we get closer to the start of the fall semester. But if worst comes to worst, maybe I'll just take a class for fun, be it salsa dancing, non-Euclidian geometry, or something in between!

Did I Forget to Mention...?

In other news, the new Captain America movie is fantastic. Go see it, be it for Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, or just a lot of intense action. Atom, Libra, and I went to see it at a drive-in theater in Lakeland, about thirty minutes outside of Orlando, and we all loved it.

It was my first time to the drive-ins, and we had a really great time. We stopped at Publix on our way out there and picked up some subs and other snacks to eat during the movie, and I think I discovered my new favorite sub sandwich: the Mojo Pork. Not only is it the best from Publix, it blows Subway and all those other sandwich places out of the water... Even the Meatball Marinara.

Best of all, though, the drive-ins are a screaming deal. Five bucks per person for two brand new feature films! The other one we saw that night was the Muppets Most Wanted, which was very funny and cute. Captain America takes the cake, though.

Last weekend, after the Masters, Francisco and I hit up Hollywood Studios to use up some fast-passes he'd been holding on to; unlike regular fast-passes, these ones don't expire until the end of the month in which they're given! Still just a one-time use, though. He won't tell me where he gets those things, all he says is, "I know people." I'm thinking he's part of a Disney-themed Mafia or something. Regardless, we made the most of them: twice through Rockin' and twice through Tower, plus an animation class and Toy Story Midway Mania. Fun evening!

Well, I think that's about all the interesting Disney-related stuff from the past two weeks... Oh yeah, except for one thing. Can I get a drum roll, please?

Keep going.

Keep going. This thing deserves a serious build-up.

A week and a half ago, on Wednesday afternoon, I got to take a tour of the Dream Suite located inside Cinderella's Castle, right at the heart of the Magic Kingdom. Many of you probably didn't know that a suite existed inside the castle; others have probably known for years because you're true Disney fanatics. Either way, you should be jealous. It was amazing.

It's certainly not very big, but they absolutely make the most of the space. You take a private elevator from the ground level up to the foyer, where there are two doors: one is to your suite, the other is to the quarters of a private butler who sees to you during your stay. A private butler!!

And the suite itself is just gorgeous. It's themed to look and feel like Cinderella's castle, from vintage furniture to stained glass windows to marble columns with moldings of Jaq and Gus; but it still includes all the wonderful amenities of modern-day living, like a TV and hot tub. I would love to post pictures, but... That would just kinda ruin the magic of it, I think. Besides, I'm sure you can find stuff on the internet already.

How did I come about this opportunity, you ask? Well, apparently that week was National Architecture Week or something. (The engineers give the architects that to make them feel better, but it really doesn't sustain the same overwhelming popularity of National Engineering Week.) One of the events of the week in honor of that was a tour of the Dream Suite, given by none other than the two architects who designed it. They sent out an Outlook invite to all D&E cast members for 25 slots to be filled, and thankfully I was already looking at my email when they sent it because the slots filled up in less than five minutes.

Not to toot my own horn, but it really is a rare opportunity to see the inside of the Dream Suite in person. You can't book it yourself, no matter how much money you have; it's pretty much reserved for only the winners of the occasional drawings they do for an overnight stay in the place. Even Disney cast members don't get to see it much: Rawlings told me he's never gotten to see it in the eight years he's been with the company. It was such a privilege, and probably the neatest cast-exclusive thing I've done so far in my internship!

The one picture I will post is that of the Dream Suite key that they gave each of us as a souvenir. It's a nice thing to commemorate the experience - and to prove to you all that I'm not just making this all up.

Right after the tour I left for my doctor's appointment about the knee pain I'd been having. The doctor diagnosed me with patellar tendinitis - inflammation of the tendon that connects the patella (knee cap) to the tibia (shin bone) - in both knees. He gave me some exercises to do on my own, as well as pain meds for the bad days, and recommended I begin physical therapy.

I'm disappointed that it's tendinitis, because that was exactly what I was afraid of: a repeat of the struggles I dealt with in seventh and eighth grade. But at least it wasn't something more serious, like an ACL tear, that would require surgery. Six to eight weeks of physical therapy will be a bit invasive to my schedule, but not as invasive as knee surgery, which would likely require therapy afterward anyway.

Happy Easter!

Since I've been in Florida, I haven't gone to any church services. Instead, I've been listening to the sermons from the pastor at Red Mountain Community Church back in Mesa, which the church posts online every week. That way I can still be learning every week even though I don't have a church to attend regularly.

However, it being Easter Sunday, I did want to get out and find a service to go to, so I could more formally celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All week I had no idea where I was going to go, until on Thursday at work, I came across a blurb on the Disney Company home page about services being held in the Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary Resort for Easter. There were three services: two Catholic, one Protestant. It was just what I needed!

So despite being out late the previous night at Ghirardelli's in Downtown Disney with Francisco and some other interns, I arose nice and early on Easter morning to attend the Protestant service at the Contemporary. It was a nice service; nothing exceptional, but it felt good to come together with others to worship and celebrate such a significant day. I admire the other guests that attended that day, most of whom seemed to be regular guests at Disney World rather than employees. They're sacrificing an entire morning of their vacation to attend church!

I came back that morning and slipped in the oven a couple pans of sausage and cheese strata I'd prepared yesterday afternoon. That, along with cinnamon rolls, is a traditional part of the brunch my mom prepares every Easter Sunday. Much like with my birthday cake in January, being 2000 miles away from home couldn't keep me from preserving the tradition! Half of it, anyway.

Well, happy Easter everyone! It's sinful pleasures like this dish that remind me how thankful I am that Christ died to absolve us of our sins. And now He has risen! He has risen, indeed.


P.S.  You may have noticed I didn't do a blog post last week. I've decided to post every two weeks instead of every one, because it was getting difficult to keep up in terms of both time and content.

P.P.S.  It has come to my attention that my sarcastic discouragement of sending me letters from several weeks ago has caused some wonderfully thoughtful people to refrain from writing to me. I was kidding before - I would love to receive your letters. And if you feel like including a care package of cookies and brownies, I wouldn't object to that either.

Oliver Twist Would Be Jealous

Food, Glorious Food

I have a confession to make.

Last week's post came Saturday evening, in which I elaborated on my love of food and gratuitous appetite. I told the story of all the delicious food I ate at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, from the cholesterol-soaked meat to the sugar-loaded milkshakes. But that was only the beginning.

Writing about all of that made me realize just how piggish I seemed, and it got me feeling pretty self-conscious. I decided to withhold the information that, on the morning of the day I published my last post, I had another sinfully large meal at a Disney restaurant. Francisco's friend from Texas, Lingo, was in town last weekend, so we celebrated with brunch at The Wave, a restaurant located in Disney's beautiful Contemporary Resort. They have a breakfast buffet there. A really, really big breakfast buffet.

It had all your basics: bacon, eggs, sausage, mixed fruit, croissants, muffins, and other assorted pastries. But it also had some less common and especially delicious foods, like biscuits and gravy, sweet potato pancakes, Mickey waffles, ham and cheese omelets, and - drum role please - bread pudding! I ate a little bit of half the foods, and a lot of the rest.

So yes, I decided to space out my stories of stuffing my face over two blog posts so that it wouldn't seem as bad. Sometimes you have to do petty things like that to make yourself feel better.

After brunch, we walked right over to the Magic Kingdom and spent all afternoon on attractions! It was a very rainy day, so the lines were pretty short. I think our longest wait was 20 minutes for Pirates, and that was only because it broke down for ten minutes right before we got on. I tried a few new attractions that I'd never seen before, like Country Bears, Hall of Presidents, and Swiss Family Treehouse.

We also stopped and met Cinderella, Aurora, Tinker Bell, and Rosetta. Unfortunately we all looked pretty bad in the pictures due to the rainy weather, but at least I can check them off my list! I'm slowly working my way through meeting every Disney princess... Hopefully I'll be able to finish by August!

Best of all, I rode Splash for the first time as a guest. That meant sitting in the front, throwing my arms in the air, and screaming shamelessly as we plunged down the mountain. (Meanwhile, Francisco and Lingo hid in the back row.) It was good to be back on that ride! Though if I'm being perfectly honest, Disneyland's Splash Mountain is more fun, and you get much wetter on it. Actually, it's hard to say exactly how wet I got because of the ride... The rain hit us pretty bad as we drifted through the open-air parts of the ride. But the way I saw it, a rainy day just meant we had nothing to lose by going on the ride!

Then, since last Saturday was Jongui's birthday but he was with family all weekend, Francisco and I took him out to another enormous buffet brunch just earlier this morning. This time we ate at Trail's End, which is a little place next to Bay Lake in Fort Wilderness. This one was even better (and cheaper) than the last, and it had all sorts of more unique foods, including biscuits topped with pulled pork and a poached egg, breakfast pizza, a mixture of guava and orange juice they call moonshine, and - even bigger drum roll than before, please - French toast bread pudding!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

That last picture is the French toast bread pudding. I'm ashamed to admit that no, that was not my own plate full of bread pudding (I hope you're not too disappointed in me, Nathan!). I ate my third plate of food, with the bread pudding on it, before I remembered to photograph it; the picture I took is of the skillet at the buffet itself.

A Wild Walk

Well the winter walking league at ESPN that Atom and I participate in ended the Wednesday before last, so this week Atom took me to a different location this week so that we could still get in a few miles. Turns out there's a very quiet, picturesque biking/jogging trail that wraps from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness, passing through the more woodsy parts of the Disney World property. It was a beautiful walk, and we actually saw a bunch of wildlife, including a couple squirrels and six deer!

Maybe that type of thing is more common around here, but it was a big deal to me, since I come from the dessert. Most of the interesting wildlife in Arizona is too dangerous to admire from close-up, be it rattlesnakes or coyotes. So I stopped and took a couple pictures, though it's kinda hard to pick out the deer since they're in the shade.

On a related note, I'm going to the doctor this coming Wednesday to get my knees looked at. Remember how I mentioned at the beginning of my internship that they've been hurting whenever I run or do leg exercise? Well despite the fact that I haven't done any running, cycling, or leg workouts in almost three months, they haven't gotten better. In fact, they've gotten worse.

I'm looking forward to getting them looked at; hopefully it's nothing too serious, because I'd really like to be able to go on runs around here while the weather is still somewhat nice. It's getting awfully muggy awfully quick!

The Perks of Being a Cast Member

Let's be honest, I could devote an entire blog to this subject instead of merely one section of one post. This past Wednesday night my roommates and I got selected to participate in MyMagic+ testing for Splash Mountain; they needed a couple hundred cast members to volunteer their time from 10:30 pm to 1:30 am to ride the attraction over and over using magic bands so that they could be sure the pictures from the ride would sync properly to guests' magic bands.

You know me - a selfless saint who always gives what he can to the community through volunteer work. This opportunity was no exception: I volunteered to sacrifice myself at great personal cost for the benefit of Disney's MyMagic+ service, enduring four straight rounds of Splash Mountain on a temperate spring evening.

We showed up in the Hall of Presidents auditorium for a debriefing on how the testing would work. I was hoping they'd program the animatronic President Obama to give us the rundown, but instead it was just another cast member. He told us that the park would close at 11, and that after that we'd be led around the Electrical Light Parade to the entrance of Splash, where we could enter the attraction and begin testing.

The bad news was that we only actually had the attraction for testing from 11:30 to 12:30, and after each ride we had to exit and walk all the way back through the queue to enter again. Still, like I said, I got to ride it four times with literally no wait, and it was a ton of fun. I even took a video of myself on the big drop! Unfortunately, it refused to upload to the blog. So just imagine a young man joyfully screaming as his hair flies back and water splashes his face.

Then, on Friday, Rug messaged me at work to let me know that another intern in Engineering Services had set up a tour of the Monsters Inc. attraction that morning at 8:30. He invited me along, and after procuring Rawlings's permission, I headed up to the Monsters Laugh Floor to take a look at the how the show worked from backstage. It's more software/electrical stuff than mechanical, but I still found it very interesting.

Best of all, we got to meet some of the cast members who operate the show and do the voices of the interactive characters; we even got to watch them do a live show from the studio! It's pretty impressive the way the performers think on their feet and roll with whatever the audience gives them. We then finished up with one more live show, this time from the guests' perspective in the audience. I got chosen to participate in part of the interactivity of the show, so that was fun!

So by now I've seen close to half of the park's attractions from backstage. I feel extremely privileged to have glimpsed so much of the magic from such a unique perspective. This internship has been so much more than just a great engineering experience. These are memories I'll cherish for the rest of my life!

That being said, I got some more great engineering experience this week, too. Monday night, Rawlings and I did some ride testing (actual engineering tests, this time, not just riding the attraction) for some minor changes being made to Goofy's Barnstormer. We haven't done anything like it so far, so that was pretty interesting! And the design project I've been working on is also coming closer to being finished; I've made the engineering drawings for my design, so over the next couple weeks, Rawlings will check them and make suggestions or point out mistakes to be fixed. More really great learning experiences.

So yeah! It's been a good week. I'm looking forward to the climactic end of March Madness this weekend, as well as the Masters next weekend. I sure wish we got FSAZ out here in Florida so that I could watch the Dbacks' games, but maybe it's for the best that I can't watch them play: as of last night, they're 1-6 to start the season. The good news is, they can't get much worse! Unless they swap franchises with the Angels, of course.

Oh, and guess what came in the mail early last week? The magic bands that Hannah and I were supposed to have by the time she visited back in mid February! Turns out they'd arrived at the apartment's clubhouse just like they were supposed to, but the package had been shoved to the back of the pile, so every time I came to check if it had arrived, they told me they had no package for me. Kinda frustrating, but I since I thought they'd lost it entirely, I had Disney send us free replacements.

So, if anyone wants a magic band with my name on it, give me a call. It'll probably be worth a lot of money some day.